The top 300 professors were whittled down from an initial list of 42,000, with the final group constituting less than .02 percent of the roughly 1.8 million post-secondary teachers instructing students at colleges and universities across the U.S.

The Princeton Review, widely-known for its test-prep courses, books and student survey-based college rankings, teamed up with the popular website RateMyProfessors.com to develop the “The Best 300 Professors.” It includes an impressive roster of top teachers, which features professors in more than 60 fields from 122 colleges and universities.

Data from RateMyProfessors.com identified more than 42,000 professors at those schools that students had rated on its site. Combining this info, a base list of 1,000 professors was formed. After obtaining further input from school administrators and students, the editors of The Princeton Review made the final choices of the professors they profile in the book.

“It’s extremely humbling to be included on this list,” Burns said. “It’s one of the greatest accomplishments, as far as recognition goes, that I’ve ever been fortunate to have. But the important thing is that many schools ask their professors to be good teachers, but Loyola backs it up. Loyola is a place that puts an emphasis on teaching students inside and outside the classroom, and for me to be recognized reflects Loyola’s commitment to quality teaching. I’m proud of this recognition, but equally proud of what it means to Loyola.”

The Princeton Review and RateMyProfessors.com annually collect data from students at thousands of colleges regarding their classroom experiences and assessments of their professors. For this project, The Princeton Review created an initial list using its surveys of hundreds of thousands of students that rated their professors' teaching ability and accessibility.

"We developed this book as a tribute to the extraordinary dedication of America's undergraduate college professors and the vitally important role they play in our culture and our democracy,” said Robert Franek, Princeton Review's senior vice president/publisher. “One cannot page through this book without having tremendous respect for the powerful ways they enrich their students' lives, their colleges and ultimately our future as a society.”

For more information or to arrange an interview, contact Matt Lambert in the Office of Public Affairs at mlambert@loyno.edu or 504-861-5448.